You could call her a super mom. `Collarwali', an incredibly fertile tigress at MP's Pench Tiger Reserve, nicknamed by visitors because of her radio collar, has given birth to four more cubs. This is her seventh litter and she has so far mothered an amazing 26 cubs -a record for any tigress in Madhya Pradesh.

The latest litter is a boost to the tiger introduction programme in a state that has lost 35 tigers in the last few months, say wildlife experts.

“The patrol team found four cubs a few weeks ago.They are all very small but in good health. It's a good sign
for our conservation efforts,“ said Subhranjan Sen, field director of the reserve.Sen confirmed that this was Collarwali's seventh litter.
Referred to as `Queen of Pench' and `Pench princess', Collarwali was one of the four cubs of famous tigress `Barimada', who was featured in the famous documentary titled `Spy in the Jungle' by BBC network.

She was also the first of Barimada's cubs to establish her territory in the core area of her mother's range, experts said.

The tigress littered three beautiful cubs for the first time in May 2008. But, as an inexperienced mother, she could not protect them from the harsh climate. All three cubs died of pneumonia within 24 days, recalls a forest officer.

In October 2008, she produced her second litter ­ four cubs including three males. All survived. Experts claim she has used 13 different sites to rear her three litters and most of the times it was caves.

Between 2008 and 2013, Collarwali gave birth to 18 cubs, of which 14 survived.In 2015, the tigress gave birth to four more cubs in its sixth litter.
Pench is now home to more than 50 adult tigers. A male tiger translocated from Pench reserve had also led to successful reintroduction project of tiger in Panna tiger reserve. Devoid of its tiger population that fell to poaching and other reasons, Panna is now a model in tiger reintroduction, with a population of 18 big cats (cubs and sub adults). From zero tigers in
Panna, the four reintroduced tigresses have given birth to 17 cubs in less than three years.

The Panna tiger reintroduction project envisaged reintroducing six tigers in all -two males and four females. A male tiger from Pench (T3) was brought in the month of November 2009 which after staying for a short while moved out of the park.